Title f:________________________________

The various definitions, measurements and solutions to poverty, therefore, often appear to incorporate the values of the sociologists or researchers taking part. Does this mean that poverty research is simply a matter of opinion rather than 'scientific' research, so value-laden as to be pointless? The answer is no, because the 'openness' of the academic, political and media debates about the definition and measurement of and the solutions to poverty have helped in the process of exposing the extent of poverty and helping us to understand it better. So long as poverty research is carried out with an open mind, and researchers strive to keep their personal beliefs and political preju­dices out of the research process, consider all the evidence in a fair-minded way and let their findings be criticised by other researchers, then poverty research may be as value-free as any research carried out in the natural sciences. In short, open discussion and scrutiny of the different posi­tions in the poverty debate may in them­selves be enough to overcome the values expressed through the competing concep­tions of poverty which make it such a worth­while and productive research area.

 Task 5. Go back to your suppositions concerning the problems tackled in the article. How close were they to the real content of the text?

 Task 6. Find in the article words/word combinations that can be translated as:

• (переполнен) субъективными оценками;

• прожиточный минимум, минимальная заработная плата;

• снижение заработной платы;

• включать, объединять;

• стараться, прилагать усилия сделать что-либо;

• социальное обеспечение;

• побудительная причина, стимул;

• карательные;

• предвзятое отношение, предубеждение;

• состоящее из, пронизанное чем-либо;

• пособие, пенсия;

• спорный вопрос.

Reproduce the context where they were used.

 Task 7. Using the words from the previous task, try to answer the following questions:

1) What are the prerequisites that entail some problems researchers face while studying the problem of poverty in Great Britain?

2) What is “deprivation index” and what are the aspects it overlooked according to some sociologists’ point of view? Do you consider the criticism of this term relevant?

3) What is meant by John Moore’s statement that “the poverty lobby would […] find poverty in paradise”?

4) What is the measurement of poverty riddled with?

5) Give examples of the political values reflection in the solutions to poverty.

6) Which of the two most general opinions concerning the reducing of poverty do you stick to?

 Task 8. Make up 2 groups each supporting one of the opposite points of view on the problem of reducing poverty: that of “New Right” and of left-wing researchers. Prepare a list of arguments to back your position and a number of suggestions how to overcome this problem. While presenting your opinion, be sure that to use the following tips on how to express your agreement/disagreement with some of the point of the speaker’s speech:

USEFUL LANGUAGE:agreement

• I agree entirely…

• I’m exactly of the same opinion.

• I absolutely agree with …

• I find this point of view rather interesting.

• I’m certainly in favour of … (конечно же я за)

• I approve of … (я одобряю)

USEFUL LANGUAGE: disagreement

• If I may, I’d like to correct one thing you said ….

• I respect your opinion, however….

• I partly agree with you but my own view of the problem is …

• I disagree I’m afraid.

• That’s not the way I see…

• I can’t say I share your view…

• I’m not entirely convinced by… (я не убежден в целом)

• I see things rather differently. (по-иному отношусь к этому)

• Personally, I’m more inclined to agree with… (более склонен согласиться с …)

SUB-UNIT 5.2. Ageing and Social Policy

WARMING-UP:

You are going to read an article dealing with one more aspect of the problem of poverty – ageing. Before getting acquainted with the situation in the UK, think about aged people in your country.

 Task 1. Check the meaning of the words in the box in your dictionary or with your teacher. From the list of the definitions given below find some of those given in the box:

1

self-assured pleasure-seeking hedonistic [‘hi:denistik]

economical helpless cautious

religious hardworking suffering from different diseases

optimistic light-minded saving money for rainy days

) a quality of people who believe that gaining pleasure is the most important thing in life;

2) a quality of a person who acts very carefully in order to avoid danger;

3) a feature that can characterise people who look for happiness, satisfaction or enjoyment

4) a personal quality that may describe people who are not very serious and makes decisions without considering what will happen tomorrow;

5) people who do not spend their money immediately; rather, they put it apart to buy some durable goods later;

6) a quality of people who cannot do anything useful on their own, for example, because they are weak.

Then decide whether these qualities can characterise aged people of Britain/Belarus? Can you add any other characteristics to each group?

 Task 2.Read the following statements describing various processes shaping the lives of the aged people. Can you link them with some of the qualities given in the box? Check the meaning of the words in bold in your dictionary or with your teacher.

- A considerable number of retirees continue working beyond retirement age, even if they are often lower-paid.

- The majority of aged people suffer from the lack of self-fulfillment.

- In spite of many financial burdens, some aged people still try to imitate the lifestyles of the young and lead an active way of life.

- A certain percentage of retirees is anxious about their spiritual state and thus the number of religious old people has increased significantly.

- Some old people fail to manage their emotional and social lives.

- There is a problem of misunderstanding between the retirees and their offspring due to the eternal problem of the “generation gap”.

 Task 3. Now read the article ‘Ageing and Social Policy’ and tick () the processes form the list above that have been mentioned.

AGEING AND SOCIAL POLICY by John Williams

Richard Scase from the University of Kent and Jonathon Scales from Essex University in their recent research Fit and Fifty (2000) argue that Britain's over-fifties will be increasingly split between affluent early retirees who are look­ing for new challenges and a better quality of life, and lower-paid men and women, some of whom have to continue work­ing beyond retirement age because of financial necessity.

Their research also suggests that the 'generation gap' in lifestyles between older and young people is becoming less pronounced as the older generation becomes more self-focused and hedonistic (pleasure-seeking), imitating the lifestyles of the young. The higher expectations of self-fulfilment among older people and the increasing inde­pendence of women in this age range are likely to produce more divorces among those in their fifties and so many more single-person households for this age group. The authors predict that this trend will produce more psy­chological and social problems for men than for women because women are better able to manage their emotional and social lives. Evidence already suggests that the health of men who are in their fifties suffers if they live alone. More women in their fifties are in work now, and will be in the future, partly due to financial necessity and changes in the job market, and partly because some of them enjoy more independence from men and the home.

Scase and Scales point out that financial burdens on those in their fifties are likely to increase in future. More of them will have to care for the children they have had in perhaps a number of different relationships, as well as for their own longer-living parents, increasing numbers of whom will be men living on their own. Life expectancy for men and women in the UK is expected to continue to climb in the current century. Today, one in 10 men over 60 years of age live alone, but Scase and Scales suggest that by the year 2020 that figure could be closer to one in three.

What are the implications of these sorts of changes for sociologists and for social policy? The expectations of some older people seem to be building up as households, lifestyles and living standards of people in the 'fighting fifties' are changing at a rapid rate.

 Task 4. Which of the following statements contain real facts about retirees in the UK? Back your opinion with the information from the text.

1) In Britain there is a tendency for the older generation to imitate the lifestyles of the young.

2) Britain’s over-fifties tend to get married more often than their peers 30 years ago.

3) More common divorces in the UK entail a number of psychological and social problems for both men and women.

4) Single-person households make the men’s health better.

5) In the near future life expectancy is expected to continue to climb.

6) Some scientists point out that expenditures of the retirees will grow in future.

“Alice laughed. There’s no use trying” she said. “One can’t believe impossible things” “I dare say you haven’t had much practice” said the queen. “When I was your age, I always did it half an hour a day”. “Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before Breakfast”.

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol

 Task 5. Work in groups of three. Use the processes shaping the lives of the aged people that we discussed earlier and the information from the article. Each person takes a different role:

--student A is the dreamer who describes the social processes of an ideal welfare state («государство всеобщего благосостояния» (с системой социального обеспечения, бесплатным обучением и т. п.) and don’t be afraid to suggest the most incredible ideas,

--student B is the critic who considers what problems might be encountered (=meet) in making these processes real and

--student C takes the role of the constructive realist who tries to find the right balance between the dreamer and the critic. After the discussion each group presents a workable solution where the three position come together (you can use expressions to describe problems & solutions from the box below). Advice for the dreamer: do not be afraid to suggeste the most incredible ideas!